All you need is Love & a waffle Iron

This post is dedicated to the loyal reader,

 who is not my Dad. 

Thank you both for the support & encouragement <3. 

I would also like to thank the waffle iron industry for coming so very far.

For Christmas, I bought myself a new waffle iron.

(Farberware, Walmart, $20)

 I can generally produce an edible waffle, & have been known to get pretty creative with them- & lucky for me thanks to a waffle iron & baking mix, it's pretty fool proof......which is why I am so darn good at it! 

But, I digress.

I had an epiphany. Which is a coincidence, because it's also nearly THE epiphany.

We roll quick, cheap & easy around here,

 & try to work smarter, not harder.

Waffles can be easier??

umm.....ya. even fancy. Ney, gourmet even.

For this to make sense, we have to remember back 20 years 

to when I first learned this particular cheat.

Cobbler, topped with white bread! 

& lots of butter & sugar which makes everything better.

= turns out as a beautiful bubbly mess after baking.

To make any delicious stuffed waffle it's as easy as sliced bread.

1.Give your hot waffle iron a good spritz of your 

preferred non-stick spray.

2. Assemble your creation between 2 slices

3.Smash it! 

4. & cook until the done light comes on!

This is easy enough that even small children could do it 

(with close supervision, of course) 

we've been eating lots of egg sammie waffles, which works out because the gangster garage hens have been busy.

which brings me to point 2......

GET THIS EGG COOKER

it's on amazon, which tells you it's revolutionary.

Its' quick, cheap & easy.

Make any kind of little fried egg or baby omelette, & waffle it.

It's literally that easy.

hot roast beef? Yep

Cheese Toasty? Easy

Budget Hot Pocket? Go for it

Creative cooking at its finest.

Dollar Tree Cooking Challenge

So, I recently saw a video (<------- that one) by the

VEGAN ZOMBIE, about shopping the groceries at 

DOLLAR TREE. 

& I know there are several budget meal plans on Pinterest, based products available at Dollar Tree. 

I'll just assume that this is one of the new Facebook challenges, 

& I'm getting ahead of the curve,

 because I'm a fun killer & won't dance outside my car.

For the excitement of it, & because we roll quick, cheap & easy

 I wanted to check it out. 

I was amazed at the selection of things available (coconut oil?!?!), & was surprised at some of the things they didn't have. 

Of course selection will vary by location.

DOLLAR TREE NOT TUNA CASSEROLE

10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup

1/2 C Mayo

1 bag egg noodles (boiled & drained)

1 C Cheddar Cheese 

1 C Milk 

Sprinkle 'O bread crumbs 

In all fairness we already had milk, so I didn't buy theirs, though they have milk available in the refrigerator section. 

Or the bread crumbs. That's just a pantry staple.

Mix it up it your 9x13 & bake at 350 for about 45 minutes, until brown & bubbly  

by all means, drain a can of tuna to add, if you like tuna. I thought I had a better chance of getting the troops to eat it sans tuna. 

I also picked up a frozen steamer bag of peas, because that's what you eat with tuna casserole. 

These are the very same, name brand bags available at any grocery store, & just as tasty!

We also tried the veggie burgers mentioned in the video, with tater tots (last night)- I thought it was ok, but the visible veg chunks in the patties were a flop with the kids.

It's good to have this shopping option available, but buying smaller packages in the long run is usually more expensive. 

If you are just feeding a single person, I can see where this might be a good budget plan, especially if you have access to reasonably priced fresh produce,

 so you aren't living on processed foods 100%

Let's face it, it's just hard to beat Aldi. 

 But I'd make this again in a pinch.